


The Secret Behind Our Pinkies

by zelly_lohla



Category: TOMORROW X TOGETHER | TXT (Korea Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, But more fluff than angst, Dancing, Fluff, Fluff and Angst, Friendship, Light Angst, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Surprise Kissing, Whipped Choi Yeonjun, Yeonbin
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-06-10
Updated: 2020-11-09
Packaged: 2021-03-04 04:15:14
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 10
Words: 20,774
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24637423
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/zelly_lohla/pseuds/zelly_lohla
Summary: “Did you know, if your pinky is the same as someone else’s, no matter how different the hand size is, it means that you and that person will be connected forever?” Yeonjun brought up out of nowhere.Soobin scoffed. “Right… Was it Beomgyu who told you that?”
Relationships: Choi Soobin & Choi Yeonjun, Choi Soobin/Choi Yeonjun
Comments: 15
Kudos: 151





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Please have this tiny chapter and don't mind the mistakes.  
> I've been thinking about Yeonbin lately and how fluff they are, I had to write something for them eventually...

It was late in the afternoon and the dance practice had finished rather quicker than expected for all the people in the room. Nevertheless, it was still tiring and enough to make them gasp for air by the end. As soon as the clock pointer reached seven, the music instantly seized and everyone stopped dancing, rest was also as important as practice, and the choreographer was wise enough to teach his students that fact. 

“Okay, we’re done for today! Take a breather and then head home to rest, I don’t want to see anyone here by the time I come back!” The choreographer shouted, echoing on the walls, after turning off the sound and stepped out of the practice room for some moments, leaving the dancers wondering how he must have a good lung capacity to still be able to shout. Some of them let their bodies fall over the refreshing cold wooden floor to take the 'breather' while others instantly walked, or limped, towards their bags and left. 

Yeonjun was one of them.

The moment he stopped hearing the music, he glanced at the clock and, after confirmation, his body just grew weak, and suddenly he was on the floor staring at the lights on the dark ceiling. His ribcage was going up and down at a rhythmic pace and he brushed away the wet greyish blue bangs from his forehead as he swallowed dry, washing away the scratchy feeling inside his throat. After settling down for a few seconds, Yeonjun noticed the other dancers exiting the practice room and he looked around in search, his eyes landing on the tallest person there, standing next to the speakers and sound system and almost chugging an entire bottle of water, upside down. Or maybe it was Yeonjun who was staring at him upside down, so he rolled on his stomach and remained on the floor, legs dangling in the air. 

“Soobinnie.~”

The other stopped drinking and glanced at the mirror before meeting eyes with Yeonjun. 

“Have you finally managed to do that easy-peasy move that you kept failing for days?”

“I don’t know, hyung. Have you learnt how to breathe properly during high-paced sequences without almost passing out?” Soobin counterattacked with the poor attempt of a neutral expression, the corner of his lips curved into a smirk. Yeonjun pouted for a quick second but quickly changed it to a grin along with a giggle.

Yeonjun could still remember the first time he had seen Soobin but not how their relationship had evolved into the friendship they had now. It happened like any other typical meeting at a new school, both were new, both ended up in the same club, one day Soobin started a conversation with him, or maybe he was the one who started it, Yeonjun can’t really recall it anymore. He just knew that, by the time he noticed, almost three years had passed and they were twelfth-grade students who were in what someone could call a relationship of trust and support, adding a little bit of playful tease and healthy rivalry once in a while. Besides each other, they had gained friends along the years and after a few introductions and hang outs, they became a group of five, where the two were the oldest. Yeonjun had entered school a year later in elementary school so he and Soobin were in the same grade, followed by Beomgyu and Taehyun from eleventh-grade and finally the youngest, Huening Kai, from tenth-grade. 

While being distracted by reminiscence, Yeonjun recalled something else. He waited for most of the other dancers to leave, waving and saying goodbye to some acquainted faces here and there but keeping his attention on his target, a sneaky smile grown on his lips. Earlier that day, Beomgyu had talked to Yeonjun about a certain ‘curious’ belief that was going around in the past week and even if Yeonjun didn’t really believed in mere rumours, he listened to the younger because Beomgyu would always get excited for the most bizarre things and rant non-stop about them and, although annoying, it could be rather cute sometimes. Said belief was that if your pinkie was of the same size as someone else’s, even if the hand sizes were different, it would mean the two would be connected forever and Yeonjun instantly understood that Beomgyu was just messing around and trying to make a fool out of him, something the playful younger would sometimes try to do to whoever was next to in that moment. Of course, Yeonjun didn’t believe him and the joyful chortle that the other let out after his reaction was the confirmation that all was, indeed, a trick. On the other hand, it didn’t mean that Soobin wouldn’t fall for it either, especially if it came from someone else other than Beomgyu and Huening Kai. Suddenly he wanted to try it out with Soobin just to tease the younger. He would probably scoff at him at first and sarcastically go along with it but, if Yeonjun played his part well, he would eventually be able to crack his defences. 

So, he gave it a try.

“Hey, did you know, if your pinkie is the same as someone else’s, no matter how different the hand size is, it means that you and that person will be connected forever?” Yeonjun brought up out of nowhere and, as expected, Soobin scoffed. 

“Right… Was it Beomgyu who told you that?”

Yeonjun almost let surprise split out, forcing his lips shut so he wouldn’t bluntly ask if Beomgyu had already used that trick on him, but remained strong, certain that Soobin hadn’t heard it before nor had a clue if it was real or not. 

“Actually, I heard it around. Doesn’t it make you curious? About who could have the same pinkie size or not?”

“Oh, hyung, please!” He sneered, taking off a grey sports hooded jacket from his backpack and putting it on. “Don’t tell me you fell for such a silly rumour…”

_You’re the silly one, you already know I don’t believe in stories and rumours._

“I get it, I didn’t believe it at first either, but then I asked some of my friends and hyungs and they said it was really true and were even surprised I didn’t know about it yet.” Yeonjun explained, blinking with feign innocence as he tried his hardest to continue the act and maintain a straight face. “Said it was something known for centuries.” 

There was silence for a moment, the wait heavy, but then Soobin finally looked to his hyung’s direction with a small sparkle of curiosity. 

“Have you asked the others about this?”

“Not yet, you are the first one. Just wanted to know your opinion.” 

Yeonjun watched Soobin frown slightly, eyes wandering around while lost in thought and then returning to meet his.

“…Is it really true?”

_Caught you._

“I guess, yea.” He answered vaguely, lowering his head between his arms and biting his lower lip to prevent laughter from coming out. Soobin was so adorable, the confusion on his little innocent face, brows slightly drawing together and pouty lips as he gave a little scratch on the cheek, but he didn’t comment any further, packing the sweaty small towel inside a white plastic bag and putting it inside his backpack along with the water bottle. Yeonjun watched him, still not having enough motivation to get up and pack his things, even though it could be bothersome if the choreographer caught him still inside the room after coming back. It wouldn’t be the first time he was caught, but he also didn’t want to repeat the same terrible mistake, since the punishment for being caught practicing after class last time had turned into a full class of being pushed to the limit and be enable to move afterwards or the next two days. Yet, he always tried to stay as late as he could, waiting for Soobin, who was a slowpoke at wrapping things up, and walk home together. 

Soobin was finally done and zipped up his backpack, hanging it by the shoulder.

“I’m ready to go. Are you?” 

Yeonjun guessed it was time to finally get the courage to get up and get ready to leave. He sighed.

...

By the lack of reply, Soobin looked back and noticed that Yeonjun hadn’t moved a single muscle yet. 

“Junie-hyung—?”

“Want to try it out?”

“Try what?”

“Check our pinkies, to see if we’re stuck together for eternity.” 

“I don’t even want to know, the idea of having to deal with you forever is… ugh.” Soobin scrunched his nose as he rolled his eyes but Yeonjun still laughed, he could tell the other was joking by the tone of his voice, and even after saying that the younger still joined Yeonjun, tossing the backpack to the side and lying down on his stomach facing his hyung. Soobin supported himself with his elbows and stuck out his pinkie, followed by Yeonjun, who scooted closer and did the same, cheerfully. Yeonjun peeked at the younger’s face, it had been a while since he had properly taken a look at him up close, and his first thought was that he had really grown up in that period of two, three years. He had grown a good amount in height, his dark brown round eyes had become more distinctive and his jaw had become sharper, but there were still the same boopable nose and cheeks. The old bowl-cut haircut had changed to a longer straight hairstyle with its fringe parted in the middle which, in Yeonjun’s opinion, it looked better. Only the fashion style hadn’t changed, as Soobin was a person who was always more prompt to choose the comfortable casual that made him feel more like himself. In conclusion, Soobin had grown into a fine but still adorable young man. 

“I’ll do the cooking, you do the dishes.” 

“Pfft, you wish.”

“Hey, I’m a great cook!” 

“I know, I just don’t like doing the dishes.”

Yeonjun laughed at his words, finally leaning his pinkie against Soobin’s.

“I hope we’re connected just so I know I can annoy the hell out of you for a good while.”

Soobin simply rolled his eyes and both focused on their fingers, comparing it for a few but somewhat long seconds before the uneventful result. It appeared that there was indeed a difference in size, although very very very small, but it was there. 

“Guess we won’t.” Soobin spoke in a lower tone as if the outcome was expected but something behind the younger’s expression didn’t seem right to Yeonjun and so, as Soobin started to retract his hand and get ready to stand, Yeonjun grabbed him by the wrist with his free hand and glued their pinkies together one more time, wrapping it around their own wrists. 

“Let’s try again!”

“Hyung, just admit your finger is smaller—…”

“Again, let’s go! I think the position was uneven.” 

Soobin gave a little exhale but still went along with Yeonjun’s words, the older could be rather persistent sometimes and he just wanted to go home and lay down on his comfy bed after a good warm shower. 

“See? It’s the same, look!”

Giving him the benefit of the doubt, Soobin scooted even closer to see as well, startling Yeonjun a bit by the sudden proximity, reaction that went unnoticed by the younger. He narrowed his eyes to focus more intensely at the fingers until his face lit up a few seconds later by the discovery, a wide smile and squinted eyes. 

“They’re the same.” 

Soobin had finally noticed, but he had noticed it too late. How his hyung had suddenly gotten closer to him, how his foxy dark eyes gazed at his reaction with a hidden glint in them, how there was an unexpected puff of air smelling of mint chocolate against his nose, and how suddenly there were soft puckered lips pressured against his own. In fact, Soobin had only realised it at the sound of a smooch after the soft press which turned his attention towards the older, whose eyes were less widened but nonetheless bewildered, and before Soobin could process any words whatsoever, the other quickly stood up in a heartbeat, pushing himself from the floor, and left the practice room in a hurry. 

Yeonjun ran out at a good speed, ignoring the lack of the usual weight on his shoulder, legs shaking but filled with a rush of adrenaline, a hand over his face to hide himself, rubbing his lips roughly once or twice. 

_…That face is just so unfair!!_

When Soobin finally started to process what had just happened, he realised something else that was curious too.

“…Ah. His ears were scarlet.”


	2. Chapter 2

Yeonjun sensed the morning light but didn’t dare to open his eyes until minutes later, troubled by the blurry vision as he searched for the small rays of light passing through the openings of his curtains while quickly avoiding them all together right after, turning in bed. He felt sluggish and his legs were sore as he stretched them slowly under the covers, probably due to the previous day’s overexertion. Instead of the usual yawn, Yeonjun let out a heavy sigh, fingers rubbing against the corner of his eyes, and pushed himself up, sitting against the bed’s headboard. To say last night was terrible was an understatement, having lost count of how many times one of his eyes had peeked the phone’s screen only to see it wasn’t morning yet. He would fall asleep and suddenly there he was again, darkness around him, hearing the soft whispers of leaves moving along the night breeze, probably belonging to the sidewalk trees by the entrance of his building. He recalled the last time he checked the screen, displaying 4.21am, so he took it as the time he had finally been able to fall asleep properly, non-stop until morning. His hand reached for the phone on top of his bedside table. 

8.01am. Three messages, two from Beomgyu which he decided to ignore. 

Yeonjun stretched one last time, this time with a bit more strength, and stared at the ceiling, pondering if it was worth getting up. The events from the previous day were passing through his head, especially the last moments at the end of dance practice. Especially a certain someone’s reaction. Yeonjun groaned, burying his face in the bent of his arm. 

“Why is he so-…!” The boy whined, stomping his feet on his bed as the memories flooded back. If someone asked Yeonjun why he had done that, he wouldn’t be able to answer with certainty. If he tried to answer, he would say it had been something more like a daydream action than an impulse, something along the lines of his brain imagining it happening and his own body unconsciously playing it out as if he was inside of a dream and had no control over it. Soobin was so up close, his round eyes widened, and heart shaped lips slightly parted in surprise staring back at him, and Yeonjun groaned some more, the unwelcomed warmth and embarrassment creeping on his cheeks and ears. 

Suddenly, voices echoed from outside his room probably coming from the living room, voices that were more than he was expecting to hear, and the boy got up and headed towards the bathroom which was right in front of his bedroom. He washed his face lazily and noticed his messy hair, bangs somewhat bent and going in various directions due to having gone to sleep without drying them properly, and his slightly red eyes, but that was something that was an easy fix with some wet cotton over them for a few minutes. He took a mental note to do it as soon as the guests left. 

When finally arriving the living room, Taehyun and Beomgyu were talking over how slow Beomgyu was at getting dressed which was responded with such a reasoning as that it was just Taehyun that was too quick for a normal person, which only made him glare at his friend, who in return gave him a laughable grin. 

“Morning…” Yeonjun greeted them, voice still raspy from waking up, and clears his throat. Taehyun was the first one to look at him. 

“Good morning, hyung. Sorry if we woke you up.”

“No, you didn’t—”

“Careful, Taehyun! Yeonjunie-hyung is totally in a bad mood, he’ll kick you out if you piss him off, for sure!” Beomgyu shouted out of nowhere, a little too loud for Yeonjun’s ears which caused him to wince. The two confused boys looked at each other and then back to Beomgyu, and the boy looked offended at their ignorance, especially his hyung as it was his fault from the start. 

“He was totally cranky yesterday when he arrived! Even ignored me when I called for him, three times!”

Yeonjun vaguely recalled that, having arrived home, taken a shower and gone straight to bed without having his night-time snack before bed. 

“Why are you here again, Beomgyu?” Taehyun asked, choosing to ignore the previous topic. 

“Hey! Hyung told me I could crash whenever I want. I have a key!”

“A key I’m revoking right in this moment!” Yeonjun snapped it away from Beomgyu’s hand to his surprise. “Besides, I only lend you the key so you could get your laptop you forgot last time.”

“How do you even leave a laptop behind?”

“In my defence, I had a lot in my mind.”

“I bet you got a call for another game.”

“…Maybe. Still makes me feel pressured!” 

“Right.” Yeonjun replied dry while Taehyun just rolled his eyes before picking up his bag from the floor. “I need to shower, have classes in the afternoon so please leave.”

“Today’s Saturday.” Beomgyu said, also grabbing his bag which was nearby and wearing it on his back. Yeonjun halted, his lips parting in surprise. 

“What, it is?!"

“Nope, haha!” And Beomgyu instantly ran away as if running for his life before the older could even react, opening the entrance’s door and leaving the apartment, totally forgetting his laptop once again. Yeonjun sighed in annoyance, that boy had too much excitement in the morning and if Yeonjun hadn’t wasted his energy the day before he would have chased him for a while, at least a few steps outside the front door. 

“Can you bring this to him?” He picked up Beomgyu’s laptop resting on the coffee table beside the couch. “I’m sure he’s going to use it as an excuse to trespass again.” 

“Sure, we planned to go to school together anyway, he’s probably just standing by the door downstairs when I leave.”

Yes, Beomgyu was an excited person with a lot of jokes and tricks but, deep down, he would never leave anyone behind nor forget their plans. That was one of the sides that Yeonjun appreciated so much in him, the younger could be a pain in the ass if one was in a bad mood but he was a very friendly person and would make you feel at ease, sometimes even forget about bad times for a moment while you were having them. It was one of those situations that was part of the foundation of their friendship. While Beomgyu was the first one to approach Yeonjun during a time of need, Taehyun and Yeonjun became friends simply because he was in the same class as Beomgyu and was already friends with him, therefore he eventually started to hang out with Yeonjun and Soobin as well. 

“Oh, by the way, Beomgyu said Soobin passed by and brought your stuff yesterday, your sports bag and such.” He pointed at the sports bag hidden away on the floor beside the couch’s arm. “He said you were already asleep when he came.”

Soobin came to his apartment yesterday? He didn’t hear the door. 

“…I see. Thanks.”

“Is everything okay though?”

“Yea, don’t worry about it. Practice was just too rough yesterday.”

“Got it. Then I’ll see you later, hyung.”

“Bye.”

Yeonjun walked him to the door and closed it after the younger had left, leaning his back against it and sighing heavily. He wished it was, indeed, Saturday and cursed Beomgyu for tricking him into having that fleeting trace of hope.

It wasn’t certainly to avoid Soobin, not at all! It was just because it was going to be awkward between them and he hadn’t prepared an explanation yet. 

For a moment Yeonjun did ponder about staying at home, skipping Friday entirely and just jump to the weekend, but that would be weak of him. There was no problem whatsoever, he just had to face Soobin and apologise, probably tell him he was just messing around and the two would laugh at the awkward joke, but somehow his body wasn’t really following what he was being told to, feet stuck to the ground and having zero energy to move from the one spot for the rest of the day. What if Soobin didn’t laugh? What if he took offence and was upset? Yeonjun probably would be if it had happened to him instead. Wouldn’t he?

The sudden vibration on his pocket made him flinch and he grabbed his phone hoping it could be anyone but the person he was so trying to avoid. Lucky for him, it was just Huening Kai. 

“Yes, Hyuka?”

“Hi, Junie-hyung! Do you have practice today?”

_He could have just asked Soobin._

“Yea, at four. Why?”

“Can I watch today? Got an email saying I won’t have the last class so I was thinking the three of us could go to that one café down the street. I need some ideas for my art project and thought you could help me out.”

Yeonjun gulped. “…The three of us?”

“Yea, you, me and Soobinie-hyung.” 

The boy scrunched his face, eyes and mouth closed tight to prevent a small whimper of despair from coming out, but he instantly brushed it away. What was the plan? To meet up and apologise? Yes, easy. It was the perfect opportunity, he would just have to talk to him as soon as Huening Kai gave them an opening. No big deal. 

“Yea, sure.” The words trembled a little after voicing them and he gave himself small slaps on the cheek. 

“Great! I’ll let Soobin-hyung know!” And the younger instantly hung up, not even waiting for Yeonjun’s reply. _Great…_ , he thought, the world was literally forcing him to solve things quickly and move on. He turned on his feet and walked towards the bathroom to get some cotton on his eyes before starting to get ready for the new day, yelling a weak “Fighting!” to cheer himself up. 

Yeonjun spent the day avoiding Soobin, he wanted to gather all the courage he could to face the uncomfortable situation. Luckily for him, he only had two classes with him, Maths and Geography. The younger had chosen to take English and Economics while Yeonjun, having already learnt English during his childhood, had decided to go for Media. By the time he arrived at the practice room for his dance club activities, although he was fully ready for what it was coming, he gave himself a quick internal pep talk, just a few minutes before 4pm. Then, he opened the room door with the heart in his mouth, trying to stop his own eyes from searching the room, but as soon as he entered, he was greeted by Huening Kai’s loud voice calling for him and motioning to come towards him. Soobin was seated next to the silly grinning boy, tying the shoelaces of his right sneaker, and Yeonjun’s resolve crumbled as he swallowed dry right before dodging his eyes when the other finally lifted his head to look in his direction. 

_Uwaa… Why can’t I look him in the eyes?_

His feet were once again glued to the floor and suddenly his mind was blank to what he was supposed to say and do in the first place. As it looked like his hyung showed no signs of moving from his spot, Huening Kai trotted to his side and linked arms with him, shaking him away from the distraction. 

“I almost thought you weren’t coming. Soobinie-hyung says you always arrive ten to fifteen minutes before practice.”

_Yea, that’s when I know he’s going to be here alone and don’t want him getting ahead of practice from me!_

“I— I had some stuff to do– I have to get ready, can you let go?” His voice came out in a higher pitch than he expected, and Huening Kai’s mouth shaped a circle, slowly letting go, making Yeonjun almost coo at the purposely puppy eyes the other was giving him. “Our choreographer is very strict and if he catches me being late, I’m dead meat so… yea…”

The younger nodded and returned to Soobin’s side. Yeonjun caught how Soobin’s eyes followed the youngest’s return and how he continued to listen to him but missed how said eyes turned to him the moment he walked to his usual spot on the bench, settling down his sports bag and getting ready from practice. It was time to focus on the dance, nothing else.

Nothing else, Yeonjun.

The dance practice went bad.  
Yeonjun made more mistakes than he normally did and his breathing kept staying uneven during the correct positions and timings. There was no scolding but Yeonjun could feel eyes that casually looked over in his direction, coming from several ways, and he couldn’t really tell what was worse, the silence or a scolding. By the end of the practice, his legs were shaking and he heaved heavily, the water bottle still full by the bench’s right. 

“We’re done for today. You have the weekend to rest but don’t go around being lazy on me, remember to do stretches and stretches only. As for the ones who are lacking…” Yeonjun could see the choreographer looking his way by the corner of his eyes as he walked to sit on the bench. “I hope you at least memorize the proper moves and timing.”

He was right, Yeonjun was a disgrace today. He told himself he would focus entirely on dancing during practice but his body felt heavier and his legs were still sore, causing him to lack strength and stumble on his feet a few times, plus he couldn’t deny how his eyes wandered once or twice towards the other side of the room where Soobin was. It had become a habit even if he tried to avoid it. 

And right on the day Huening Kai had decided to watch them dance. So uncool…

Yeonjun just hoped his dancing hadn’t looked as bad to the other dancers’ eyes as to his choreographer’s. He grabbed the bottle and took a quick sip, feeling the cold run along his neck and on the corner of his lips, wanting to shake away the faint dizziness. Maybe it was the lack of sleep…

“Hyung!~~” 

Yeonjun quickly dived his head, hair bangs covering his face as he supported his tired self with his elbows on the knees. 

“You were so good!”

 _I was terrible._

“I could really see how hard you practice. Can you teach me some moves someday?”

 _Thanks for the support but, for real, I was so bad today._

“I’ll teach you when you teach me how to draw a perfect circle without having to erase or repeat it a thousand times.” 

Huening Kai whined at that and Yeonjun gave him a forced chuckle, his heartbeats becoming a bit more stable but nonetheless heavy. 

“I can teach you, Hyuka.” 

The older’s eyes widened at the sudden appearance of a pair of white sneakers in his line of vision, something white and soft suddenly covering his head and shoulders. It was a towel, Soobin’s towel, the one he normally brought to practice to wipe the sweat off his face so it wouldn’t burn his eyes, and it was clean, not a hint of smell in it, only vanilla. It wasn’t the first time Soobin had done this to Yeonjun. Every time a dance battle wouldn’t go as expected or practice wouldn’t go as great, at least to the older’s expectations, Soobin would notice the frustration behind Yeonjun’s voice and actions and hide his face with the towel, just in case his hyung wasn’t able to control his tear glands, was the reason he gave. It had never happened before, at least in the practice room, but to think that, to protect his hyung’s pride, Soobin would risk some salty sweat burning his eyes, Yeonjun’s vision became watery. Now he did feel like crying, the conversation between his two friends muffled to his ears. 

He just needed one day. One day to organise his thoughts and then he would deal with it all, Soobin, the dance choreography… He swore.

The older rubbed the towel over his forehead and neck, not forgetting the corner of his eyes, and cleared his throat before pulling his sports bag closer to him. 

“You two can go, my energy ran out and my brain is fried. Sorry, Hyuka, I’ll help you out tomorrow if you want, I’ll call you.” Yeonjun stood up, a bit relieved that the dizziness was completely gone, and packed up his things in a rush, knowing that Huening Kai would probably insist for a bit longer before giving in. “Soobin, I’ll wash your towel and return it on Monday.” He didn’t spare a look at the other but Soobin had probably nodded in reply because that was just like him and so he put the sports bag over his shoulder and left waving goodbye.

The last thing Yeonjun heard as he walked away was Huening Kai calling for him with a whine.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I had to rewrite this chapter because I wasn't too pleased with it (and I'm still not entirely, oh well!) but I hope you enjoyed it anyway. I'm still figuring out what to do as plot for this so I might be a bit slow XD
> 
> P.S. I miss Yeonbin


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's hard to write when you have too many ideas for too many different fics and zero motivation to write any of them...
> 
> Sigh!  
> I'll try to make it longer next time.

Yeonjun slept through the night and woke up in a better mood. It was Saturday and he could finally relax, let his mind drift away from unnecessary thoughts and just enjoy the weekend doing things he felt like had to be done for a while, like house cleaning and such. He got up early and with no complains and did the usual stretches, the stern annoying voice of his choreographer repeating the last statements from the previous day. 

So his entire yesterday’s mood was really caused by the lack of sleep, and he was glad he had fallen asleep the moment he laid down on the bed and slept like a log. Yeonjun filled the sink with lukewarm water and brought it to his face, rubbing it up and down to wash his face before staring at his own reflection in the mirror, a better looking expression than he had wore in the previous day, that’s for sure. He smiled at himself, winking even, and after cleaning his face with the towel, he left to prepare a big breakfast and eat it. 

Maybe it was from the well-rested sleep or from the good mood he had waken up to but Yeonjun suddenly felt like he could finally have the guts to face Soobin and talk about the incident. His thoughts were calmer than before and he could see things with a bit more sense. So, even though it was the weekend and Soobin might still be sleeping at that hour, Yeonjun decided to contact him, but through texts instead of calling, in case the younger was still indeed sleeping.  
A small text couldn’t hurt. He was thinking of texting him apologising for ditching him and Huening Kai the day before and that he’d make it up to them on Monday, probably paying for a meal or something…–

But before Yeonjun could even open his text messages the phone vibrated on his hands, startling him a little. As if the world had expected him to contact Soobin, surprisingly it was the younger who texted him first, making Yeonjun wonder why he was awake at that time in the morning when his sleep schedule only let him wake up properly around noon. 

_((Can I pass by your house later?))_

Yeonjun wasn’t expecting an opportunity to talk so soon but his mind and actions were still influenced by the gutsy mood thus he replied without thinking twice. 

_((Sure, everything okay?))_

_((Yes, just picking up my towel.))_

Oh, right. The towel. 

Yeonjun run towards the laundry section, phone in hand still open in their message log, took the towel from the washing machine where he had put it washing when he had arrived and hung it on the drying rack by the opened window of his bedroom, hoping the weather would warm up as the day went by and have a little help from the newly spring.  
He could have just waited for Yeonjun to bring it on Monday though.

_((Ok, text me when you arrive at the door.))_

It was already 4.43pm. Yeonjun kept peeking at the clock displayed on his living room’s wall, the pointers passing by each number slower and slower. Throughout the day he had made the bed, cleaned the bathroom, cooked lunch and washed the dishes, hung the remaining wet clothes to dry, swept the floor and had a minor secret self-practice (no one needed to know that) where he tried to imitate the same movements from the previous dance practice. After a quick shower, he had started to watch a movie to pass the remaining time as he had done all the chores for the day and could finally take a break, but his focus eventually ran out in the middle of it, getting bored. 

All of a sudden, Yeonjun heard the notification sound coming from his mobile phone and, for some reason, a wave of uneasiness similar to the one before washed over his body as he pressed on the screen to read the message. Soobin was at the building’s door, he was going to come up and the two would be alone and that would be a great opportunity to talk about it, so why? He meant to do it the next time he saw the boy so why was he suddenly hesitating again? Where was his usual confidence he was so proud of? 

Yeonjun walked towards the intercom and pushed the key button to unlock the door downstairs, next he opened the door of his apartment and then waited for Soobin by the door, the other showing up at the turn of a corner a few moments later. Soobin greeted the older with a dimpled smile and Yeonjun couldn’t help but feel his heart skip a beat at the sight, almost causing him to hit a fist against his own chest. 

“Come in.” Yeonjun let the other inside, trying not to show his slight wavering on his voice as he cleared his throat after said words. The door closed and there was a weird silence between the two, as if each one was waiting for the other to speak, or to at least to break the ice. At least, that’s what it felt for Yeonjun, constantly pushing away the unnecessary thoughts he had spent the day avoiding and thinking of something to say. He studied the younger from behind, whose head seemed to move as he scanned the surroundings, fiddling with the strap of a small cotton bag tainted in beige and grey colours. Maybe he had somewhere to be, or was coming from somewhere he had gone to.

“You’ve been cleaning.” Soobin pointed out as he looked back at Yeonjun, who almost flinched at the unexpected words. At least he was breaking the silence, it was more than Yeonjun had already done.

“Yea, I had been avoiding it so today I just… let it all out.”

“That’s productive.” Soobin muttered, taking one last scan at the living room and kitchen. Yeonjun inhaled deeply and decided to take the bull by the horns, walking further inside and stand in the sight line of the younger.

_Act normal for now. Act normal…_

“Did Hyuka do his project?”

“A bit. He got a bit sulky but you said you’d help him out later so,” He leaned against the counter that separated the kitchen and the living room, the edge fitting against the space right below his hip bone. He was that tall. “Besides, I think he wanted to chat more than to work, I guess it was a good thing you didn’t go. You two can get distracted very easily.”

“That’s true…” Yeonjun laughed sheepishly, scratching his head. 

“I already helped him out so next time it’s your turn, and don’t try to escape or pass it on to me again. I won’t do it!”

Soobin said he wouldn’t but he would. No one could resist Huening Kai’s puppy eyes, let alone Soobin. Their families had known each other since they were young and, according to Soobin’s words, they had been friends since Huening Kai’s last year of elementary school. Yeonjun would be lying if he said he had never experienced the tiniest hint of jealousy over their friendship before, but that was at a time when he and Soobin were still in the first stages of a closer friendship, when classes would end and Huening Kai would be waiting for Soobin by their school’s gates, his middle school classes having finished before theirs, so they could go home together and Yeonjun couldn’t help to wish he could also go home together too. After getting to know the boy more and finding out he was a rather funny yet clumsy person, and finally having the guts to ask Soobin to go home together after Huening Kai’s change of address, those feelings of jealousy were replaced by joy and attachment. 

“I’ll call him.” Yeonjun reassured, suppressing a small chuckle on the back of his throat.

“Good.”

The conversation soon died out again but at least Yeonjun didn’t feel as pressured as before. Seeing the younger act as normal and in his usual self was more than enough to loosen him up a little and bring back that confidence from earlier that day, recalling the decision he had chosen to do. The boy was about to ask if the younger wanted something to eat or drink, both as a way to make him more comfortable and as a way to let Yeonjun prepare a small inner start-up, but then remembered that Soobin had come to pick up his towel and his mouth motioned a circle as Soobin fixed the strap of the small bag, changing positions on his shoulder. Yeonjun went to grab the towel after telling Soobin to give him a second and squeezed it to check if it was still wet as he returned to the living room.

“The towel is still damp though. Want me to let it dry a bit longer, or maybe use the hair dryer?”

“I’ll just bring it like this and put it drying at my place.”

“Sorry, you came all the way here to get it. I could have just handed it to you on Monday.”

Soobin shook his head, receiving the folded towel, and opened the bag to put it inside.

“Don’t worry, I used it as an excuse to come check up on you. You were weird yesterday.”

_…Okay._

Yeonjun fought back a teasing question creeping at the tip of his tongue, something like if he had gotten worried about him and such, to which the younger would just scoff or click his tongue and deny. 

“Before you say anything, I wasn’t worried.” Soobin predicted his words even when the older hadn’t said them out loud. “I just came to see if you were back in shape so I could slaughter you in the practice room.” 

He said it with a neutral expression but the teasing was explicit in his tone of voice, and Yeonjun would have laughed it off and counterattack if it weren’t for the uncomfortable question as to why Soobin wasn’t asking anything about the fact that Yeonjun had completely avoided him the previous day or kissed him in the one before. There were times where it was hard to read Soobin behind his thoughts and actions and Yeonjun wished this wouldn’t be one of them but unfortunately it was. 

He had no clue. 

Suddenly all the ‘acting normal’ situation wasn’t so reassuring anymore.

“Thanks… for bringing the stuff.” Yeonjun decided to rehash the topic himself, holding on to that courage he was able to get back before it left him again. Soobin was quick to catch up, probably from the way the older rubbed the back of his neck and pursed his lips. 

“It’s fine, you’re lucky I noticed them. Also, hyung, –” Yeonjun braced himself for what was coming. It was now or never, and he was sure of what Soobin was going to talk about, low-key glad it was Soobin who had brought it up instead of having to muster the rest of the courage and timing for it. “I don’t mind that you tease me sometimes but you went too far with your jokes, imagine if someone saw it.”

“Y-You’re right. I wasn’t really thinking when it happened.”

Which was true. 

“…Do you like me, Yeonjun-hyung?”

Yeonjun’s eyes widened, and he raised his head to look at Soobin who was already staring at him, doe eyes watching every move of his surprised expression, something unreadable behind them. The rest of Yeonjun's gutsy mood crumbled into pieces. 

“What– No! I mean I like you, but I don’t like you– I mean, I– You’re one of my closest friends, that’s what I meant…!”

He ignored the stab of agitation in his stomach, his heart beating slightly faster and his tongue feeling weird as he stumbled over the words. It wasn’t supposed to be as such a great deal as he was making it to be and he knew that, but his own body had decided to betray him instead. Maybe it was the possible chance of losing the closeness he had with Soobin, something he considered so precious to him.  
…Maybe it was–

“I’m sorry that happened.” Yeonjun finished, forcing them out. 

“Well, like I said it’s fine. It’s just, you started to act weird and seemed like you were avoiding me.” Soobin let out an exhale of relief, a smile growing back. “I guess I’m glad you don’t like me _that_ way.”

“Y-Yea,” Yeonjun swallowed dry, suddenly wanting to avoid the younger’s eyes. “Things could have gotten pretty awkward.”

They laughed to force out the weird tension in the air, and it did relieve it a bit, even if it was forced one-sided. 

“Hey, do you think we could keep this between us? I mean, can you let me save some face, haha.” Yeonjun forced another chuckle and for a moment he worried if it had been noticeable when Soobin simply stared blankly at him, eventually muttering a small ‘sure’ that reassured Yeonjun.

But just a little. 

“I really have to go, it’s getting late and I still need to do some shopping for my mum.”

It was the second time Soobin was excusing himself for having to leave early and Yeonjun hadn’t even uttered a word against it, nodding in response as he opened the apartment’s door.

“Don’t worry, Soobinnie. I’m glad I’m getting rid of you, I was in the middle of a movie.”

“Since when is a movie more important than me?” Soobin teased and of course ended up getting pushed out of the apartment by the older who didn’t even say anything back. 

“I’m going now, Yeonjunie-hyung.” He waved, the same dimpled smile on his face that he had when greeting Yeonjun, and the other nodded with a smile too as he closed the door when Soobin turned to leave. It only took a few steps until the first corner of the floor’s hallway and Soobin let his back hit against the wall with a small thump, bringing a hand to his chest as he felt the heavy toll on his body. He was relieved that the two had finally talked about it but what he didn’t tell Yeonjun was that he had also felt a weird pang on his chest along with it, and it made him question if he had been that nervous about Yeonjun’s reaction. 

But, god, he was so relieved.

_So relieved..._

Yeonjun closed the door as soon as Soobin parted and let his forehead hit the door, hitting it once more with a bit more strength than he wanted to and stroke his forehead while letting out a small whine. Everything was solved. The two had talked it out, he had apologised and Soobin had accepted it. He had even agreed to keep it between them so it wouldn’t be brought up again to Yeonjun’s demise. They were back to how they were, like always, and he was finally allowed to take a big breath of relief.

Everything was solved so why? 

Why was he feeling miserable?


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> sorry in advance on how bad this chapter is... >.<

Sometimes, when the weather was in a certain way with a certain temperature, one that specifically made him feel at peace, Yeonjun would go for a run through the path along the river, just a few minutes away from his house. He would put on his practice sneakers and grab the first pair of sweatpants and first t-shirt he could find and would set off, mostly when the sun was still greeting the birds as it rose in the horizon line in the east.

Today was one of those days.

Yeonjun had overslept but decided to go out for a run, both to enjoy the spring breeze blowing against his face and to relieve himself from any amount of the stress he had piled up in the last few days. There was a fresh watery smell with a touch of flowers in the air and it brought a relaxed smile to his lips. He watched other runners just like him along the path, some people taking their pets on a walk, even others who were simply taking a stroll and enjoying the weather, and, also, there would always be two or three men fishing by the river, probably fishing for sport. Yeonjun liked this, the patter of his sneakers against the path’s stone tiles blending with the calmness of the scenery, as time seemed to be stuck in a loop of freedom. 

By the time Yeonjun came back home a few minutes past an hour had passed since he had left the building. He rubbed his neck and cheek on the short sleeve of his t-shirt to wipe off the sweat rolling down his face’s outline as he climbed the stairs, choosing to take them over the elevator as a complement to the exercise. Finally on his floor, Yeonjun turned the last corner and noticed someone in front of his door, definitely pressing the ring bell too many times for his own good. He was going to call him later that day, he swore. 

“Hyuka, why are you here? I would have called you–”

“Is it true??” The boy asked noisily, strong lungs projecting his loud voice, and Yeonjun was quick to hush him, bringing his finger to the younger’s lips and looking around before opening the door in a rush and dragging the boy inside the apartment. It wasn’t exactly early but Yeonjun would rather not have noise complaints in case any night owls were still in bed. He understood the feelings, he had a friend like that.  
The door closed behind them. 

“What the hell, Huening Kai–!”

“Is it true though??”

“What is??”

“Did you and Soobinnie-hyung touch lips?”

Yeonjun’s mind went blank for a moment, but then he sighed. Of course Soobin had probably already talked to Huening Kai before Yeonjun had asked him to keep it a secret. They were besties, therefore it made sense the clear hesitation in his expression the day before, and Yeonjun scoffed.

_‘Touching lips’? Did Soobin really say it like that?_

“So??”

“So what?” Yeonjun replied sharply at Huening Kai’s brusque call for attention. 

“Did you?”

“Why does it matter?” He ruffled his own hair, fringe and hair on the nape slightly damp from sweat, and walked to his bedroom. The younger gasped deeply, a bit too loud and high-pitched for Yeonjun’s ears. 

“You so did!” Huening followed him from behind, a goofy grin on his face that, at another time, Yeonjun would find cute if it wasn’t caused by his blunder that he so wanted to forget. If he thought hard enough, he could still remember the soft sensation against his lips and Soobin’s scent mixed with sweat on his nose, but he never let his mind wander that far. 

Nor wanted to, of course. 

Yeonjun would just rather forget, just like Soobin also most definitely wanted to. 

“I wasn’t going to ask– No, I’ve actually been biting my tongue. I didn’t expect you two to be an actual thing!”

“We’re not a–”

“But, I mean, you guys are basically glued to each other so I’m not that surprised either. So what was it like? Why did you suddenly do it? Where there and then? Why–?”

“Hyuka, I swear to god!” Yeonjun raised a hand in front of the other’s face bringing him to a halt, mouth turning into a flat line. All that interrogation was causing a headache the older would rather not have. “That was nothing, it was a joke. A joke taken too far and I just want to let it go before it spreads to the rest of the group.”

“I mean, it’s not a big deal–…”

“It’s not, but I want you to stop. Please.”

Huening Kai observed his reaction before agreing, nodding in response, and Yeonjun gave him a small smile of gratitude. 

“Let me just wash up and then I’ll help you with the project.” He left to the bathroom.

“But Yeonjunie-hyung, are you sure you don’t like him even a little?” Huening Kai tried one last time to tease the older and ended up cackling when his hyung opened the bathroom door, t-shirt already taken off, just to show him the finger and close it again.

After the quick shower and a small snack, the two sat in the living room after making some space. Yeonjun pushed the couch further away from the television and put a small centre table on top of the carpet where Huening Kai could work on his project and he could rest his laptop while helping him out. They stayed focused on their tasks for a while, mostly sharing and discussing ideas and browsing some topics related to said ideas, but, just like Soobin had mentioned before, Yeonjun and Huening Kai were two people who could get side-tracked easily while working.

“And now?”

“Now what?” Yeonjun perked up his ears, starting to get bored of opening and closing tabs from the web browser. 

“Between you and Soobinnie-hyung.”

Yeonjun sighed at the persistence of the younger.

“Nothing changes, we’ve already talked about it.” 

“Do you feel awkward around him?”

“…No.” He typed something else on the laptop but his fingers halted mid-sentence. Wait. “Does he?”

Huening Kai looked up from his notes and thought for a bit before shaking his head. Yeonjun relaxed at the confirmation. He didn’t need to worry about going back to what they normally were, that’s good. 

“You better not open your mouth to the others or I’ll sew it close!” He threatened, pointing a pen at the younger with a glare but Huening Kai, unlike Soobin, was quick on his feet.

“Don’t worry, hyung. I just wanted to know if it was true or not. I have no interest in gossip.” He returned to work and Yeonjun watched him for a while longer, still waiting for the younger to tease him some more. As the other showed no further signs of doing such a thing, Yeonjun relaxed on his seat again, stretching out his arms and shoulders from the arched position. In an instant, he got rid of two problems in a row. 

“But…” Huening Kai muttered under his breath but was able to catch Yeonjun’s attention once again. “If I kissed a friend, I wonder if I could go back to acting normal with them…”

Yeonjun pursed his lips and smacked Huening Kai’s head, who just snickered. At this point the younger was literally just trying to skip work and finding enjoyment in teasing him by prolonging the conversation. He was like a younger version of Beomgyu, but less annoying and less constant. Of course he and Soobim were going back to normal, they had talked and solved things, both sides in agreement. Besides, mistakes and accidents were only done once because people learnt from them (occasionally) and Yeonjun had promised himself to be more careful when dealing with Soobin and setting boundaries between his actions and imagination. He didn’t dare to question why he had thought about such a thing at the time because it was already in the past.

“You better give a superb presentation if you’re this talkative while you’re working.”

“No worries! With my hyungs’ help, I’m going to nail it, just watch me. You better come, Yeonjunie-hyung!” 

“Won’t miss it. Tell me the time and place and I’ll be there.”

When Monday arrived, Yeonjun understood what Huening Kai had meant with that comment the moment he felt the familiar arm around his shoulders as he and Soobin checked something on their school book and his heart rate started to spike up, a sudden need to step away to cool down at the sensation of his cheeks warming up. He swallowed the knot inside his throat and cursed at Huening Kai internally.

He was so screwed…


	5. Chapter 5

***Ringtone playing***

Soobin unglued his eyes from the notebook in front of him for the first time in half an hour, ignoring the faint drowsiness that had been trying to overtake him since a little after lunch. Maybe it was a bad idea to advance on some of the weekend homework he had to do right after a big meal but the quicker he finished that, the sooner he could do whatever he wanted for the rest of his Sunday, his mind already planning to watch that one practice video Huening Kai had filmed the other day. Soobin disconnected his mobile phone from the recharger and took a quick glance at the screen in curiosity before accepting the call.

“Hey, Hyuka.”

“Hello!~~ Soobinnie-hyung!~~” The goofy cute voice was loud and clear against Soobin’s ear. The boy would always greet him like that whenever they spoke on the phone. “What are you doing right now?”

“Doing some homework I have for tomorrow.” He scribbled around the current exercise he was stuck on. “What about you?”

“I just left Junie-hyung’s place.”

Soobin’s hand stopped.

“Are you jealous?”

“Why would I? I bet you went there because you just had to open your big mouth, wasn’t it?”

“Sorry!~~” Huening Kai apologised cutely, trying to get in Soobin’s favour who sighed in response, putting down his pencil and changing into a more comfortable position. Homework could wait a little.

It wasn’t his intention to lie to Yeonjun when the older asked him to keep it a secret but Soobin wasn’t able to tell him the truth either, the older already seemed uncomfortable enough with the whole situation. He admitted it that, when it occurred, he had been caught off guard by Yeonjun’s action and had also been momentarily confused as to why it had happened, but he hadn’t particularly hated it, especially after reaching the thought that Yeonjun could have done it just to play a trick on him. It was a big stretch, but it was better than letting his mind wander towards other directions in case it was really a joke. Soobin didn’t want things to become awkward between them, he’d rather just play along with his hyung’s antics and calmly set the boundaries to avoid any misunderstandings from outsiders. In the end, it seemed that Yeonjun was the one who had become more awkward about it than him. Soobin didn’t complain. His hyung had actually looked really cute afterwards, a charming scarlet colour tinting his cheeks and ears, a first to Soobin’s eyes.

_I wonder if he’s mad with me now…_

“I can’t believe you…” He muttered.

“He wasn’t that angry when I brought it up… I think.”

“Did you two at least work on the project like you wanted to?”

“Oh, yea, we did, I swear!”

Soobin could only think they probably hadn’t done much, and there was no point in asking Yeonjun because he would just answer the same to save face. It wasn’t good when those two joined forces together to save their own asses, who would have thought that when he first introduced them to each other. He could still remember the day he had walked into Huening Kai’s bedroom and see the two discussing about some plot twist happening in the movie they were distracting themselves with, school books closed and paper works half done and due to the next day. The excuse they gave him at the time was that they were taking a short break but Soobin eventually found out from Huening Kai’s mother that the two had been stuck with their papers for the most part of the night, if the obvious dark under their eyes in the next morning wasn’t evidence enough.  
He decided to believe the younger’s words for now.

“Well, I’ll have to see that on the day of your presentation.”

“I am offended by the lack of trust.” The younger forced his voice to sound more serious but imagining Huening Kai putting on a tiny scowl to look more intimidating only brought Soobin a smile of amusement.

“…Soobinnie-hyung.”

“Hn?”

“Are you feeling awkward towards Yeonjunie-hyung now?”

“No.” Soobin said it as if the answer was obvious. There was no reason to be when they had already talked about it, even before that there wasn’t any. 

“Yeonjunie-hyung said the same.” The younger went quiet, as if expecting any comment in return. Soobin didn’t have anything to add.

“Are you coming here, is that why you’re calling?”

“Ah, no! Was just to warn you in advance so you could prepare your apology for tomorrow.”

“You’re the worst.”

“I love you, hyung!~~” And the call was cut off at the end of the sentence. Typical of Huening Kai. Soobin shook his head and set down the phone on the previous place, grabbing his pencil and going back to focus on his homework, on that annoying exercise that he couldn’t seem to get over. 

On Monday, Soobin greeted Yeonjun like usual. The boy was on his way to school, walking a few steps away in the front without noticing him, so Soobin jumped to his side as he greeted him and Yeonjun almost swore, hitting him lightly on the ribs right after. Soobin recoiled in instinct, laughing at the other’s startled yet cute reaction. Yeonjun seemed to be acting normal, he thought, relieved.  
They had their usual morning conversation, discussing about classes and homework, talking about dance moves and their dance practice, where Soobin asked if Yeonjun had already watched their previous practice video to which the other denied, refusing to watch the miserable sight he had been until the end of that day’s activities, hoping he would have improved and so it wouldn’t be as cringey to watch it with a better mindset. When the conversation died out, the two closing in the school’s entrance gates, Soobin remembered he had something to apologise for.

“Hyuka told me he went to see you yesterday. I’m sorry.”

“Yea, you literally lied through your teeth,” Yeonjun complained, a tiny frown on his forehead that didn’t last long. “but somehow I wasn’t surprised so.” 

Soobin smiled at him thankful, even if the older wasn’t looking in his direction. He was low-key proud of how he could take advantage of Yeonjun’s softness for him to forgive him more easily whenever he did or said something that pissed the older off. Not that he did it on purpose though. Before he noticed, his eyes had glanced towards Yeonjun’s ear, adorned with two small silver ring earrings that Yeonjun usually took off before practice, club’s rules. He wondered if the other would let him touch the pieces again like he had allowed him once before, after a lot of protesting and a lot of persistence. 

“I can’t believe you said we ‘touched’ lips though… We kissed!” Yeonjun suddenly complained, the tiny frown returning to his face, which snatched Soobin’s attention away from his ear. He did recall saying something similar to Huening Kai. 

“Not really. Isn’t it considered a kiss if one of us actually meant it?”

The words suddenly felt foreign to himself for some reason, and he watched Yeonjun’s mouth gape momentarily at them, but then he went speechless instead of saying anything back, like a refute, and Soobin took it as the older had agreed with him. The two walked inside the school grounds in silence.

Soobin spent the day in his natural state, acting like he usually did with Yeonjun, but he had decided to watch the other’s reactions, just to confirm he was no longer feeling uncomfortable after their talk. There was probably no need to but Soobin just wanted to make sure, especially when there were moments where it seemed like he could have, maybe, noticed one or two things that seemed different, but it could also be him overthinking it, pushing away that hint of uneasiness he had felt before after leaving Yeonjun’s apartment. His mind playing tricks on him wouldn’t be the first. 

Was he nervous again? Why?

The dance practice was going smoothly and Yeonjun seemed to be back on his feet, each limb moving fluently along the music and his jerks hitting the timing perfectly. It caught Soobin’s attention sometimes, the way the older’s leg would stretch longer than his, hands movements more refined and well-controlled, wearing an expression Soobin sometimes wished he wouldn’t see in the practice room but somewhere else. Somewhere–  
Yeonjun was only having trouble synching his breathing with the opportune pauses. Soobin had already given him some tips on how to work on it, tips that Yeonjun seemed to completely forget whenever he got too immersed in his dancing. It was always the breathing…  
The boy noticed how their choreographer followed Yeonjun’s movements with a certain focus yet a certain satisfaction hidden in his eyes and that spiked up his adrenaline, making him put more effort in his moves and timings. He couldn’t be left behind, he had sworn to always be, at least, at the same pace as Yeonjun’s. 

Their pinkies were the unspeakable vow of that.

“Soobin, focus on the song and fix your tempo!” The choreographer told him out of nowhere, and Soobin hadn’t even noticed he had rushed his movements, looking at himself in the mirror and seeing that he was two steps ahead from the others. Yeonjun smirked at him in the reflection on the corner of his eye and Soobin held back his tongue from sticking out towards him. It was something easy to fix, Soobin had just gotten a little too excited and the choreographer had mistaken excitement with distraction. 

Eventually, the time came where the music would come to a halt and everyone stopped. Soobin sat on the floor, trying to settle down his heartbeats, and peeked in Yeonjun’s direction, the older spread out across the floor as his chest moved up and down along his harsh sucks for air. He rested for a bit and then stood up, walking to his tired hyung. 

“You don’t learn, do you?” Soobin teased, but there was gentleness masked in his voice.

“…S-Shut up.” Yeonjun wheezed out. The younger held out his hand to him which Yeonjun took, but not before taking a few final deep inhales to catch his breath, and pulled him up, the hand’s grip weak on his, he noticed that. The choreographer hadn’t left the practice room right away like usual and suddenly gestured Yeonjun to go talk to him as soon as the boy was back standing on his feet. Soobin shared one last look of support with Yeonjun before the older slowly walked towards the man, trying to gather his energy with each step he took forward.  
Having to deal with the scary devil itself could be a tough situation sometimes.

Their conversation didn’t last long and even though Soobin had finished getting ready to leave at the same time Yeonjun returned to his belonging’s side, it only took a few minutes before the two were leaving the school building and going home together. There was a sweet breeze enough to refresh their warmed-up bodies that, honestly, Soobin wished it was blowing stronger. 

“What did the devil tempt you to?” He asked, curious, and reformulated his question when Yeonjun looked puzzled. “Gok-nim, what did he say?”

Yeonjun gave him a weird look, squinting his eyes as he pursed his lips. It seemed like he wasn’t inclined to answer that and Soobin didn’t need to push further to know what it was. They walked in silence, side by side, hunger in their bellies and muscles aching from the effort. There were times where the two wouldn’t shut up, either talking or teasing each other, even bickering, but also times where they just stayed quiet, simply acknowledging each other’s presence. Soobin liked both.

“…Soobinnie.”

The younger met eyes with Yeonjun and the older opened his mouth to speak only to close it right after, when Soobin’s eyes landed there. He sighed and smiled at him instead, the previous tension on his voice gone.

“I think I really did good today, didn’t I?”

_You did, hyung. You looked cool._

“I’ve seen better.”

They reached the usual spot where their paths separated and bid goodbye to each other, each one heading back to their own place. The day had passed rather quickly in Soobin’s opinion. It didn’t seem like anything significant had changed, if it did, he hadn’t caught on. 

But something fell off. 

Well, Soobin’s just glad they’re back to what they were before. At least.


	6. Chapter 6

Yeonjun knew that, if one stretched a string, even if little by little, it would eventually break if one surpassed its limits. It was the same for a person’s feelings.

A little less than two weeks had passed since the surprise kiss and no matter how hard Yeonjun tried he wasn’t able to completely return to his old self. Sure, both were acting the same as before, being as close as always, but Yeonjun could never truly calm down, even after having to get used to Soobin’s skinship again. Every time they hugged, touched, even looked at each other for a little longer, Yeonjun felt different. Sometimes he felt a wild fire burning him from the inside, other times butterflies tickled his stomach, and he was sure he didn’t use to feel like that before the event. Or maybe he had felt it before and hadn’t noticed it or had brushed it off for something else. Soobin was acting like usual and didn’t seem to pay attention to any weird actions Yeonjun might have done unconsciously, which meant he was feeling the same as always, and Yeonjun just wanted to do the same. So, every time Yeonjun felt ‘different’, he would swallow the feeling as a whole and push it deep down somewhere inside him, feeling the string inside him stretch little by little, and he would think that it could hold on a little longer, always a little longer.

Movie afternoon. The group had decided to meet up after morning classes to spend the afternoon together at Yeonjun’s apartment and Huening Kai had chosen to re-watch one of the classics that most of the boys enjoyed, a mystery movie. Most of their activities together were either outside or at Yeonjun’s because he was the only one living by himself and they could be as noisy (with moderation) as they wanted to and play around freely without worry.  
It happened to be peaceful in the living room that day, the sound of the movie, halfway done, resonating on the walls with the subtle humming coming from the microwave as Taehyun prepared the second bowl of popcorns and butter. Yeonjun was sitting on the couch leaning against its arm, Soobin and Beomgyu were side by side on the floor, knees to their chest, and Huening Kai upside down on the couch, often changing positions to his liking.  
Yeonjun had already watched the movie many times but the way the puzzles were presented and the intellect behind it always seemed to pique his interest at least a little, like a young child wanting to learn how to do magic. It wasn’t one of his favourites, but he understood why some of his friends seemed to enjoy it so much. He was so distracted with it that, when he felt movement close by, his body acted in auto pilot again. His hand reached out to caress Soobin’s cheek, one of his several habits that were ingrained in his head, that was why he did it without realizing, his full attention on the screen in front of him. It was time for the second puzzle to be deciphered. Only when Yeonjun felt an unexpected strength against the palm of his hand did he glanced in its direction and saw the unknowing action, the younger leaning into the touch, slightly rubbing his cheek on it.

Yeonjun heard it. Abruptly.

The wavy sound of the string, stretched out to his max, so much it could easily snap with the touch of a fingernail, and he hastily withdrew his hand, a bit dumbfound by his own impetuous action. He looked around to see if the others had noticed but it didn’t seem to be the case, checking up on Soobin last, who surprisingly continued facing forward with not so much as a word directed at him. The sensation of Soobin’s soft skin lingered on his palm as Yeonjun stared at his own hand, tracing his fingertips over it.

~~It's not enough.~~

It’s too much.

Yeonjun forced his thoughts and weird feelings away without success, too big for it to be swallowed this time. 

He couldn’t hide it anymore. He needed a time out. 

Huening Kai looked to his side at the feeling of movement and saw Yeonjun getting up from the couch, fixing his knee sized shorts before heading towards his own bedroom.

“Where are you going?” Taehyun asked as he brought the popcorns over, extending the bowl to him so Yeonjun could take some. He did so.

“Just going to my room, be right back.”

And with that, Yeonjun escaped.  
He escaped the thoughts, the looks and the feelings, digging from inside out, and he could no longer blame his imagination for it. Not anymore. 

The boy closed the door behind him and walked towards the bed, letting his body fall over it and groaning against the pillow. Why was his own body being so troublesome to him? Not just his body but mind as well? Yeonjun brought his hand to his line of vision as he peeked out from the pillow, the lingering softness still tingling his palm and fingers and, god, how he wished he could reach out for it again, gently caress that pale skin, sinking on his dimples before kissing them chastely–  
Yeonjun hit said hand against the sheets in a close fist, hiding his face in the pillow to muffle some whines that came along with those thoughts, his insides already starting to overflow to the outside. Couldn’t he just blame the younger for being so eye-captivating instead?

Yeonjun allowed himself to close his eyes for the moment, at least until the movie his friends were watching ended and someone came searching for him. He wasn’t that interested in it anyway, he told himself, and he could always give the excuse he had fallen asleep over how tired he was from waking up early that day, a little white lie that didn’t hurt anyone. At least in his sleep, in the land of dreams and fantasies, Yeonjun could be a little freer.  
But it didn’t take long until someone opened the door as well as let themselves enter the bedroom, their footsteps careful, closing the door afterwards, and Yeonjun was sure the movie was not over yet, having heard its sound from afar while the person entered. He raised his head to check who it was, and his head fell back as soon as he saw them, turning and facing the opposite way.

Why was he there?

Why couldn't he just have a rest?

But Yeonjun quickly regretted such questions since he couldn’t imagine himself being away from him that long. They hadn’t known each other for long but he already felt like life wouldn’t be the same if he didn’t have the younger by his side, him and the three other noisy friends having fun in his living room in that moment.

“Here you are. You were taking a while, you missed a big chunk of the movie already.”

Yeonjun felt the other side of the bed behind him sink in and then a light touch of someone’s presence on his back.

“What is it, Soobin-ah?”

“I’m sleepy.”

“No, I mean why are you here?”

“I got bored of the movie.” And Yeonjun knew the boy was lying, Soobin liked that movie. He twisted his upper body to look behind him, the other just chilling against his back with his eyes closed, hands curled into fists and legs slightly bended, body hunched in a comfortable sleeping position. There was space on the far side of the bed, he didn’t need to be so close. Yet, Yeonjun couldn’t help but wanting to feel him more. The so comfortable touches that used to calm him down only made him tense up now.

“Go back. I want to be alone.” 

Soobin opened his eyes and frowned. 

“Why? Are you okay?”

Yeonjun saw him come closer than before, almost as close as that unforgettable evening, and his heart started thumping fast again. He tried to swallow it back but he couldn’t, the string was already too stretched. _It will snap!_

“Please go back!” Yeonjun yelled, facing the front again, the sight already too hard to handle.

“Junie-hyung?” Soobin pushed himself up at the slight tremble on his voice and pulled him by the shoulder so the older faced him but, with a violent shake, Yeonjun yanked his hand way, a bit rougher than he intended to. Soobin sat up on the bed quickly. 

His string was done for, too. 

“What the hell, hyung! Why have you been avoiding me so much lately?!”

“I haven’t!”

“You have!!”

Damn it, Yeonjun tried. He really did. 

“I just don’t want you that close to me!”

“You used to annoy the hell out of me with it, you never complained! What’s wrong with you?! Do you suddenly hate me?!

“No–!”

“Then do you like me or something?!”

Yeonjun’s string snapped as well, sitting up as quickly as the other did before, a glare in his eyes and heart thumping now for another reason.

“I do!!” He spat angrily, and almost instantly his words reached his head. “Maybe? I don’t know!” 

Soobin was taken aback, eyes slightly widening at Yeonjun’s first words, but quickly returned to his frustrated self after hearing the rest.

“What do you mean you ‘don’t know’?!”

“‘Don’t know’ means ‘Don’t know’!!”

“You can’t just blurt that out and expect–!!”

Their attention suddenly turned towards the bedroom door at the sound of it opening, three timid heads peeking inside, concern and curiosity on their faces. 

“Erm… We heard loud voices.” Huening Kai explained, quietly and carefully. Beomgyu, on the other hand, seemed to be stumbling on his inner thoughts and, influenced by his surprise, he just let his mouth run the first thing that passed through his head.

“So… Yeonjun-hyung likes Soobin-hyung?”

Yeonjun groaned loudly in annoyance and got up from the bed, not caring that he pushed Soobin’s legs out of the bed as he did, and the three youngest opened passage for him to leave in an anger rush, hitting with the apartment’s door on his way out. The bedroom grew quiet right after, all of them looking at each other, unsure what to do or say, until Soobin sighed heavily in frustration, calmly getting up from bed too and leaving the room. 

“It wasn’t because of what I said, was it?” Beomgyu asked timidly, wearing an awkward expression of guilt, and Taehyun shook his head.

“I mean, you didn’t help but no, I don’t think it was you.”

Suddenly they heard the front door hitting again and they moved to the living room only to find it empty, the movie still playing on the television with no audience. 

“You think he went after Yeonjunie-hyung?” 

“No, I don’t see his things.” Taehyun replied to the youngest after giving a quick scan at the room. “I think he just left.”

“So… what happened exactly?” Beomgyu asked, and Taehyun looked at Huening Kai, obviously knowing that he must know something about it. Huening Kai’s eyes flickered between the two, not really sure what to do, but eventually gave up. There was no point in hiding something that had already been found out. Besides, it was unfair of him to hide it from the others when they already knew something was going on. So, he gave them a sheepish laugh as he scratched his cheek, buying time to organise the events inside his head before explaining to them. 

“Well… The thing is…”


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Uwaaaa
> 
> Two new chapters in the same day~~  
> (Since one of them is quite small)

After some thinking and hesitation, Taehyun, Beomgyu and Huening Kai decided to meet up at a different cafe the group was used to hang out at, just the three behind the other’s backs, and talk about their hyungs’ random fight. Yeonjun and Soobin hadn’t spoken for two weeks now which wasn’t normal for them since they normally made up within a week every time they fought. 

“It’s been two weeks… What’s wrong with them, they should have made up by now.” Huening Kai said bummed out, munching on a marshmallow as he stirred his crockpot hot chocolate. 

“True. I wonder how long they’ll just stay like this.” 

“They fought because of the kiss, right? I mean, is it that big of a deal? If, for example, Taehyun kissed me as a joke I wouldn’t be– There’s a lot of people who would like to kiss me, Taehyun!” Beomgyu asserted at the sight of a disgusted Taehyun looking up and down at him. 

“I don’t think the problem was the kiss itself, but who it was with.”

“Yea, they had been acting like usual, but it seemed that Yeonjun-hyung had become less… close to him? Physically I mean. Maybe Soobin-hyung noticed it too…

The three paused their conversation, pensive about the situation as each of them took a sip of their own drink, trying to organise their thoughts. 

“…What if Yeonjun-hyung really likes Soobin-hyung?” Taehyun broke the silence first, putting down the mug of his salted caramel latte, half empty already. 

“Then they can just talk about it–”

“It’s not that simple, Beomgyu. Everyone’s afraid of rejection, especially from close friends.” 

The silence returned, but briefly, until Beomgyu sighed heavily, leaning backwards on the chair, making it wobble a little. 

“Still think they should talk. Besides, they’re always clinging to each other, who knows, maybe Soobin-hyung likes him too?”

“I’m always clinging to him too, does it mean I like him that way?” 

“It’s different, Huening Kai. He treats you like a baby.”

“The point is,” Taehyun intervened, interrupting the other two. “Beomgyu’s right, they need to talk. Let’s make a plan. Beomgyu, tomorrow you go to Yeonjun-hyung’s to keep him busy and don’t let him go out. Huening Kai and I will go get Soobin-hyung.”

“What if he doesn’t want to come?” 

“We’ll figure it out in the moment. So, deal?” Taehyun glanced back and forth between the other two, who looked at each other for a moment before agreeing to the plan.

The three soon finished their drinks and started to walk back to school, the youngest of the three still had classes in the afternoon and Beomgyu and Taehyun decided to accompany him until the school gates. Maybe take a sneak peek at the dance practice and see if their hyungs' moods had changed, even if the chances were slim. 

“Hey, Huening Kai, you’ve been with Soobin-hyung the longest. Do you really think he has zero feelings for Yeonjunie-hyung? If so, I feel sorry for hyung…”

“You don’t know if he likes him, Beomgyu.”

“yOu DoN’t KnOw iF hE LiKeS– IT HURTS! TAEHYUN-AH!” Taehyun pinched Beomgyu’s arm with the most neutral face while the other whined in agony, trying to weakly pull his friend’s fingers away so it wouldn’t hurt as much. That’s what he got for mocking with Taehyun...  
Huening Kai ignored the scene, absorbing the question and let it linger in his mind for a while. Suddenly the boy smiled, and his following words were what caught the other boys’ attention again. 

“Well, he definitely feels something.”

Taehyun let Beomgyu snatch his own arm from his fingers, distracted by what the youngest had said, and the other also seemed to get distracted by it, mouth going agape and rubbing his arm swiftly before linking arms with Huening Kai.

“What do you mean? You know something?”

Huening Kai remained silent, enjoying the others’ curiosity and whines. This was such a good opportunity to ask for a favour without having to do anything in return. He recalled that one time, two days before his hyungs’ fight, where he and Soobin were at the older’s house, Huening Kai playing the newest multiplayer game on the computer while Soobin was just laying in bed, browsing around on his mobile phone. 

_“ARGH! I can’t believe this! It’s the fifth time it happens!!” Huening Kai shouted, having lost another round of the game due to poor teamwork from other random online players that he refused to interact with.  
…Maybe it was both sides’ fault._

_“Don’t shout, my mum will complain.”_

_“Your mum loves me!”_

_“Yea, but she’ll complain to me.”_

_The younger sighed and threw his headphones aside with more strength than he intended to, hunching his body in response in case Soobin had heard the loud thud they did hitting against the desk but the other was too focused on the screen and if he had heard anything, he had chosen to ignore it. Huening Kai got up and let his upper body fall over Soobin’s body, who let out a grunt as he scrunched his face but continued with his task. Huening Kai pouted at the lack of attention._

_“I’m bored, Soobinnie–…” He started, cute baby voice in order to persuade the older to do something to entertain him, but was interrupted by the notification sound coming from Soobin’s phone. He decided to wait and closed his eyes, shaking his head on the older’s chest, bored, when suddenly Soobin’s heartbeats picked up and Huening Kai raised his head to check on him._

_“Everything okay?”_

_Soobin was still staring at the small screen but seemed to be reading something as he nodded in response._

_“Our choreographer filmed our practice the other day so we could watch ourselves and prepare for our quarterly dance battle. Yeonjun just watched it.”_

_“Oh, what did he say?”_

_“He said I need to spread my legs wider in the last sequence and relax my expression more.”_

_“Sounds like him.” Huening Kai joked, imagining how many times the two must have listened to such comments from one another during their dance practices, but by the contented expression that Soobin wore, an unique look that he didn’t get to see often on his hyung’s face, Huening Kai thought there was probably more on that message than that._

So, with a secret hidden behind his lips, he turned a deaf ear to his friends’ attempts and shrugged it off as a random thought spoken under his breath. 

Be it love or not, Soobin definitely felt some sort of great affection towards Yeonjun.


	8. Chapter 8

The birds were chirping, hungry. There was probably a nest somewhere close by his bedroom’s window, Yeonjun could hear them loud and clear.

“So am I, so am I…” He spoke to the air, evidently the birds wouldn’t understand what he was saying but still proceeded to chirp for their parents to bring them food. Yeonjun had some ingredients inside the fridge that were about to expire and he should really make use of them by the end of the day but after three (forbidden) hours practising the whole dance choreography in a row and repeating the same difficult part over and over, he was too tired to even get up from his bed, the comfort calling for him back to the land of dreams where he had come from five hours before. Even to take a body shower and put on his dark blue shorts and beige long-sleeved shirt he had already been clumsy enough, so he didn’t dare to stand up again so soon.  
Besides the birds, the house was relatively quiet, which reminded him of the previous day, the moment when the music stopped and everyone left, staying behind, like always, just he and Soobin. 

Yeonjun clicked his tongue. 

The younger hadn’t spoken to him again, even when Yeonjun had finally gone back to staying for longer after the end of practice and waiting until Soobin was done, pretending to be tired and therefore slower at preparing his things to leave. He could have probably talked to Soobin already and tried to fix things up but there was something about the younger that still irked him or something of the sort. So, by the end of the day, each of them had ended up returning home alone and without a word or glance shared.  
An unexpected sound pulled Yeonjun back from his thoughts and woke him up a little, but he didn’t make the effort to get up and check what it was. He heard some more thuds and whispers, then the click of his bedroom door, and that’s when curiosity perked him up, making he raise his head towards it. 

“Yeonjunie-hyung.~~” Beomgyu’s cheerful face appeared behind the door and Yeonjun dived his head on the pillow with a whine. There goes his rest…

The younger threw himself on top of him and Yeonjun yelped. 

“Let’s play some video games.~~”

“Get off, you’re heavy!” Yeonjun twisted under Beomgyu but the other just laughed without moving an inch.

“Only if you play video games with me.”

“How did you even get in?”

“If I say I climbed four floors until I reached your window, would you kick me out?”

“Definitely.”

“Then… I used the key.”

“You don’t have a key, I revoked it!”

“You lent it to me again on Thursday because I forgot my books, remember?”

Yeonjun frowned in thought, eyes wandering for a bit, until he let out a groan as the memory played out in his head. Why would he lend it again if Beomgyu was probably doing it on purpose?

“You spend too much time here, stay home more often.” He tried twisting again, checking if the younger had loosened his hold on him. “And I want that key back!”

“Aw, but I like it here! Besides, you’d feel lonely without me here bothering you.”

Yeonjun didn’t get lonely, he got bored. He was used to the noisy background, the loud babbling from Beomgyu and Huening Kai, the calm sarcasm from Taehyun, the excited laughs from Soobin… so Yeonjun arrived to an empty house filled with silence, one could say it was a rather boring environment compared to where he had been before. He didn’t visit his parents much as they lived far away but didn’t make the effort to visit them more either. It wasn’t that he was in bad terms with his family, but more like they weren’t as close as Yeonjun would have liked them to be. Therefore, even though Beomgyu visited him sometimes too often for his taste, he never kicked him out, secretly appreciating the loss of silence.  
Yeonjun squirmed some more but as the other didn’t budge and instead continued to giggle on top of his back he soon gave up, not wanting to waste more energy than he had already wasted. 

“I got it… Can you get up now?”

“We’re playing then?”

“Yea, yea.” And Beomgyu freed the older from his weight, the other sitting up on the side of his bed beside him and rubbing his face with a yawn escaping his lips, as if he had just woken up from a nap.

“Have you eaten yet?”

Beomgyu shook his head and grew a grin at the thought of food.

“Are you cooking for us, hyung?”

“Might as well, it’s lunch time anyway.”

Yeonjun stood up lazily, walking away from a happy Beomgyu who followed him from behind, clapping his hands in happiness and chanting the word ‘food’ a number of times that Yeonjun didn’t bother to count.

They decided to play an action and adventure game, both joining the same time to complete missions and win character points, a chill game perfect to pass the time in a tepid afternoon after lunch. After a while in silence, which wasn’t normal of Beomgyu, at least to Yeonjun’s eyes, the younger spoke. 

“So, do you like Soobin-hyung?”

Yeonjun showed him a weird expression of annoyance which Beomgyu would surely laugh at if he wasn’t busy trying to open a treasure chest while being stealthy. 

“Why does everyone keep asking me that, seriously…?”

Beomgyu shrugged at the rhetorical question.

“Curiosity. Not that there’s anything wrong with it, too.” 

There was no reply as the two continued playing the game, as if the conversation had stopped there.

“…So, do you?”

Yeonjun sighed in frustration.

“…You already overheard it the other day.”

“Then why won’t you talk to Soobin-hyung?”

“Don’t want to.”

“Why?” Beomgyu sneaked a look at his hyung’s face and he could see the answer in his eyes without the older even having to say it. It was scary… what could come out of their conversation about it was what was scaring Yeonjun, even if the older wouldn’t admit it out loud. 

Beomgyu chose not to continue with the questions, or the topic itself, instead focusing back on their game. There was no point in trying to convince a natural stubborn person. Guess it would have to be with Taehyun’s plan, if it were to ever work. 

“It’s your fault…” Yeonjun mumbled and Beomgyu asked him to repeat, too quiet for his ears and attention span, but Yeonjun refused, brushing it off as something said under his breath. Because it really wasn’t Beomgyu’s fault, Yeonjun just wanted to feel like he hadn’t messed up at least once since that day.

They played a few more rounds and Yeonjun’s mood gradually improved as the game continued, the other not bringing the topic again, and the two let their emotions be run by the fun of the game. Yeonjun found himself momentarily forgetting about how tired he was and what was the cause. That was Beomgyu for you, his contagious cackle echoing on the walls and filling the living room with life and colour that the older wished it always had. 

Eventually, the time came.  
The boys suddenly heard the intercom beeping and Yeonjun paused the game to check who it was. In the meantime, Beomgyu unpaused it in secret to get an advantage on the older as he walked towards the intercom.

“Ah, it’s Taehyun.”

Beomgyu knew. Yeonjun, oblivious to the whole thing, clicked on the button to open the door downstairs and returned to Beomgyu’s side, smacking him in the head when he noticed the game was still going. Seconds later, the doorbell rang. 

“Oh wait a bit, the door…” Yeonjun got up once again, a bit clumsy on his feet, and went to open the door. Beomgyu unpaused the game again and Yeonjun stopped mid-track to run back towards him. 

“Ya!” He grabbed his own remote, trying to pause the game again. “Stop trying to get more points and play fair–!”

“Hyung, the door.”

Yeonjun shot daggers at him as he ran back towards the apartment door, remote in his hand in case the other tried to be funny again. He reached for the doorknob and turned it–

“By the way, Taehyun brought Soobin-hyung.”

“What?!”

Huening Kai and Soobin flinched, startled at the sudden loudness, while Taehyun greeted him with a polite smile when Yeonjun met eyes with them. Yeonjun closed his expression almost instantly and went back to sit in front of the television’s screen, mumbling ‘come in.’ with a stern face.

“I hate you.” Yeonjun pinched Beomgyu’s leg, who jumped at the stinging pain and laughed awkwardly through it. The others let themselves in, joining them on the floor and couch.

(T) “What are you guys doing?”

(B) “Playing.”

(T) “I see. Then, Yeonjun-hyung, can we talk?”

Yeonjun kept mumbling orders of attack to his game character and Beomgyu wasn’t sure if he should continue, his eyes going back and forth between them until deciding to focus on the game again. His part of the plan was done anyway.

(T) “Hyung?”

(Y) “Hn?”

(T) “Can we talk–?”

“Oh! Nice, Beomgyu!” Yeonjun shouted excited, and the two laughing boys high fived, starting another game’s mission right away. It was like Beomgyu had totally forgot the reason they were there, and Yeonjun continued to ignore Soobin’s presence and dodging their questions. Taehyun sighed and looked at Soobin who only avoided his eyes, fully knowing what the younger wanted from him. ‘How childish.’ Taehyun thought. 

“Taehyun, don’t you want to join us? We can make teams and–” Beomgyu tried to diffuse the situation, experimenting a plan of his own, but was quickly shut down when Taehyun surprisingly put himself in front of them and turned off the video game console, not scared in the slightest of the scowl on Yeonjun’s face as he demanded to turn it back on.

“Beomgyu, Huening Kai, wait for me outside.”

Huening Kai rubbed Soobin’s arm, smiling at him apologetically, and helped Beomgyu stand up so the two would leave the three to talk. Beomgyu took one last glance at Yeonjun’s face and stuck his tongue out at him, the other rolling his eyes, clearly displeased. Yeonjun could look scary sometimes but he wasn’t angry for real. The door closed, muffling Beomgyu’s laugh, and then it was only the three of them in the room. Soobin, Taehyun and Yeonjun. 

Huening Kai held on to Beomgyu’s arm as they waited further ahead.

“Hyung, why were you like that?” The youngest asked, curious, as he had watched from the side lines the previous situation inside the apartment. 

“What?”

“You almost ruined the plan.” He shook the older’s arm, whisper-screaming. Beomgyu just put his hands inside his pockets, not caring for the words.

“No, I did my part, which was to stay with Yeonjunie-hyung until you guys arrive. The rest is up to them. I can’t force hyung to talk. I won’t.” Beomgyu spoke calmly, as if he was sure of what he had done and was doing, and Huening Kai understood. Beomgyu probably knew more about Yeonjun than him. 

“And you were the one saying they should talk over and over again, yesterday.”

“Well, I changed my mind.” Beomgyu bumped against Huening Kai’s arm playfully. “Besides, he’s not really angry. He’s just sulking.”

“Why are you two still not talking to each other?”

Taehyun was standing in front of the two, crossed arms as he looked down at his two hyungs who were sitting on the floor with a certain distance from one another. The scene was almost laughable from another person’s perspective, like a mother scolding their two children, and normally neither of the two would have let it slide if they weren’t already feeling pressured by the awkward tension between them.

“Been busy.” Yeonjun replied nonchalantly, avoiding looking at either of them and staring at somewhere else in the living room. Taehyun then turned to Soobin and asked the same. Soobin, who was playing with his own fingers, looked up towards him but didn’t really say anything, his mouth opening to say something but instantly shutting again.

“…Hmmm…”

“What are you even mad about?”

“I’m not.” Soobin replied, a little bolder. “Not anymore.”

“Liar.” Yeonjun mumbled but was heard by the younger.

“I’m not lying though, hyung is the one who’s still sulking.”

“You two need to talk. Today.” 

Yeonjun and Soobin went quiet, not knowing what to say next, and Taehyun took that as an opening for him to leave, so he did, exiting the apartment in silence and leaving them behind.  
The living room became silent as if no one was there, the sound of footsteps and muffled voices drifting away further from the apartment before completely vanish within the building. They stayed like that for a while, neither of them daring to look at the other as if their eyes could burn them on the spot. Yeonjun kept nibbling on his own bottom lip, the silence making him a bit anxious, while Soobin continued to look down to his hands, knees to his chest. It was tense, but eventually one had to speak up before both crumbled.

“…Hyung.”

Soobin was the first one to talk, his smooth voice breaking through the empty silence. He hesitated a bit before turning his face towards Yeonjun and looked at the hand resting beside him. He thought about reaching out to it, holding it on his own in a way of mutual comfort, but decided against it, considering the last time they had been that close ended up in a mess. He wouldn’t ask any questions, he wouldn’t try to apologise, he would just stay beside him until the older mellowed down again. Soobin continued to play with his own fingers and Yeonjun knew, he knew what the younger was doing, through the small pout on his lips and the quick glances spared in his direction once in a while. Soobin was trying to soften him up and at the same time he’s allowing him to let his anger fade out gradually and not forcing things to get solved in a half-assed way.  
Yeonjun clicked his tongue. It was working. 

“I’m not upset with you, you know?”

Soobin nodded carefully. “I know, hyung.”

Yeonjun was upset with the whole situation instead. He hated it, the tension, the holding back, the unspoken thoughts and actions from both. If it was possible, he wished he could go back in time three weeks ago. 

“Why weren’t you saying anything?”

Soobin fought back some words, something along the lines of ‘I could ask you the same thing’, probably because it would only have the opposite effect he wanted to cause in the older.

“I thought hyung wanted some space, you said you didn’t–.”

Yeonjun sighed, cutting him off. “You already know I say bullshit when I’m angry…”

Soobin finally reached out to hold Yeonjun’s hand, rubbing circles on the skin just like he planned from the start, feeling more at ease seeing that Yeonjun didn’t refuse the action but noticing how the other suddenly tensed up from it. 

“Why were you angry then?” Soobin asked, again carefully.

“Soobin-ah, I…” 

Yeonjun wanted to explain, he really did, but words kept stumbling around on the tip of his tongue as his neck seemed to block any other utterances. This was so unlike him, he probably looked so lame and silly, but it was Soobin who was beside him so it was fine. And because it was Soobin, it was also not. 

“You know what, I don’t remember anymore.” Yeonjun evaded the question, forcing a smile as he searched for the game controller that he had set down somewhere around them. “Since you’re here, you want to play the game? Beomgyu and I were playing teams and I’m almost reaching a new rank.”

At the sight of Yeonjun’s awkwardness, Soobin took a decision and turned his whole body towards him, crossing his legs. He gulped, hands getting sweaty.

“Hyung, what about… we try dating?”

_…………….Wait, excuse me?!_

Yeonjun’s mind went blank as he was about to grab the controller, wondering if he had heard it wrong and his imagination was at it again, and he wanted to pinch himself in that moment to wake up from the dream but too afraid for it to actually be one. When his brain finally processed the idea properly, his anger returned and he was about to shout at Soobin for mocking him but the sincerity behind the younger’s eyes told him otherwise, subsiding his heated feelings and leaving him even more confused. 

“Wha–! You–! Where did that come from?!”

“That day… you said you didn’t know if you liked me or not, so I thought that maybe we should try to act as a couple and see how things go.”

_W-What’s happening right now?_

Yeonjun’s mind stopped working for a second, maybe third time, and he brought his hands to his scrunched-up face, heart pounding against his chest as he tried to calm down the butterflies tickling his stomach. Again, times like this was when Yeonjun wished he could read Soobin’s mind. But wait, if he was asking to date then…

“D-Do you… like me?”

The other blinked innocently at the question and then simply shrugged his shoulders. For some reason, it pissed Yeonjun off, helping to bring down the light redness tainted on his cheeks. 

“What are you even–?! I’m not going into this and act like a normal couple with such half-assed feelings!”

“Hyung, listen. This is not normal. We are not normal right now, we’re forcing ourselves to behave in a certain way to not upset the other. I don’t like the awkward ‘us’, so this is the only thing I could think of.”

Yeonjun listened attentively to the younger’s words but still hesitated. It was true, they were no longer acting like they used to and at this point he wondered if there was even still an option to return to the usual days of fun where he only had to worry about school, dance practices and what to have for lunch and dinner. Was he willing to risk it all, their friendship, their group, their late afternoons of hardworking practice until their bodies turned sore and they laughed it off? He could make the effort to continue to live his life pretending to be okay with it all but Soobin would definitely disagree with that.

“Isn’t it stressful?” Soobin’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts, he hadn’t noticed he was just standing there distracted as Soobin waited for his answer. “To not know what you’re feeling and suffering without knowing the cause? This way you could figure out your feelings and later we can think on what to do next.”

“Did anyone give you this idea?”

“…Taehyun and Hyuka helped me organise my ideas.”

Yeonjun sighed. Of course the other two had to get involved. Beomgyu as well. 

“…Did you like how we were before?”

“I did.”

“What about dating? Are you okay with us dating?”

“…I might be, I might not be. That’s why we should try.”

He gave up. There was still a big part of him refusing to play along, especially when Soobin was being so vague, so ambiguous about it all. Still, Yeonjun gave up, because there was also that small part, that tiny part of him that kept bringing his memories from the kiss. The warmth inside his chest, hurting in a good way. The feeling of softness against his lips, addicting. The rush of adrenaline on his tired legs and the rapid beating of his heart…

“…Ok.” Yeonjun agreed and stood up, using the couch’s arm to help pulling himself up. Screw the game, as if he could just go play it after such scene.

“Ok!” Soobin voiced louder, almost jumping from the floor and putting his hands up for a high five, a tight smile that showed his dimples and determined eyes looking straight at Yeonjun’s, an action which Yeonjun stared for a bit but decided to accept it reluctantly in the end, slapping the other’s hand weakly. 

“Don’t worry, Junie-hyung. We don’t need to be like the other couples, let’s go on our own pace.”

_As if that’d help…_

“Besides, we’re supposed to stay connected forever, right?” Soobin joked, shaking his pinkie in front of Yeonjun’s eyes, who quickly lowered his head to avoid his face. 

“Wipe that grin off your face, makes me look like a fool.” Yeonjun bumped into Soobin’s arm gently and the other returned a light chuckle, one impossible to not smile along, shaking his head and showing off his grin, as if mocking with the older.

_Ah, his ears are scarlet again… Cute._


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry it took a while, I've been busy with paperworks and my motivation hasn't been the best but I had this saved for a while (I totally forgot i had it lmao) so I might aswell post it :3
> 
> It's small but I hope you enjoy it nonetheless~

“Wait, you two are dating? Since when, yesterday?” Taehyun asked, surprise evident in his voice, while Beomgyu continued to munch on a piece of tangerine with widened eyes. 

“A while.” 

It had been almost twenty days since but, just like Taehyun and Beomgyu had indirectly pointed out, everything seemed the same as before, the group hanging out together, both going to their dance practice and then going home together…  
Yeonjun could still remember the first day they met after deciding to go along with Soobin’s idea of dating. He had woken up very early that day, had pinched his cheek, had taken a shower and had breakfast, had pinched his cheek once more, had gotten dressed and prepared his sports bag and school backpack, and had pinched himself one last time in the arm, that time the stinging and redness lingering on his skin through the rest of the morning. He had walked to school like usual, but butterflies were shoving against his stomach again and suddenly he had become more aware of his surroundings. That was probably why he had been able to notice the boy more easily in the distance, waiting for him in the usual intersection, with the usual adorable dimpled smile, and although Yeonjun was already used to that view, his heart had still skipped a beat. 

_“Good morning, Junie-hyung.” Soobin greeted him normally._

_“G’morning.”_

_They talked most of the way to school, about some steps of choreography they were having difficulty with, some jokes and funny events that had happened when together with Beomgyu, Taehyun or Huening Kai, school surprise quizzes and homework, basically catching up most of the things they weren’t able to talk about during those two weeks of drought. Yeonjun, in fact, hadn’t been studying much, just focusing on his dance moves and preparing for the next dance battle, even though there was still almost a month to go. His mind had also been busy trying to forget that he was in the middle of a fight with a certain someone so that didn’t help either._  
_He liked to watch him talk, Soobin looked cute when speaking about things he was interested in, his eyes would squint while probably recalling said thing or moment. His skin looked soft around his dimples, forming every time Soobin smiled in his direction, and at another time Yeonjun would have tried to pull on the skin just to satisfy his own craving._

_“Soobin-ah, can I ask you something?” He interrupted the other, slightly grieving the loss of excitement on the boy’s face._

_“What is it?”_

_“Would you be disgusted or angry?”_

_Soobin’s eyebrows hitched together, the younger patiently waiting for an explanation. “About?”_

_“If I liked you… and saw you in a certain way. With… certain eyes and feelings?”_

_“Oh.”_

_Soobin went quiet for a bit, lost in his own thoughts, and Yeonjun swallowed dry at the silence, instant regret bubbling inside._

_“Erm–”_

_“Wait, don’t answer that.” The older interrupted him abruptly. Soobin seemed to want to say something but stopped himself and simply nodded instead._

_“Did you tell Huening Kai that we’re… dating?”_

_Soobin shook his head._

_“Are you going to tell him?”_

_“Do you want me to?”_

_“I don’t mind. Just… don’t let the others know.”_

_The younger furrowed his eyebrows but just for a second before relaxing._

_“Okay, but I don’t see what’s the problem of them knowing, they’re our friends.”_

_“It’s just…”_

_“Pride?” Soobin teased and Yeonjun clicked his tongue, lips puckering into a small pout._

_“I’ll tell them when I’m ready. They care too much, makes me feel unreliable.”_

_Yeonjun put his hands inside his pockets and continued to walk, distracted with the patterns drawn by the pavement’s stones until he noticed the lack of sound of the familiar footsteps beside him, so he looked back, meeting eyes with the younger._

_“Hyung, you’re dumb.”_

_“Ya-!”_

_“They won’t mock you if that’s what you’re worried about, nor force you. They know how you are just like I do.”_

_Yeonjun stared at him before chuckling at how serious Soobin looked and walked back to his side, pulling him by the arm with the excuse they would arrive late if they continued to slack off. He wasn’t that troubled about having to tell them but he appreciated the words anyway, remembering the time he had told Soobin how important friendships were for him._

That was why he was in front of his friends, admitting to hiding being a couple and asking their opinion about it since it was partly their fault for ‘organising’ Soobin’s thoughts. Maybe Soobin was just as bad as him when it came to dating and none of them knew what it was supposed to be done differently, besides obvious actions like kissing and such. That was something that he wouldn’t dare to do again so soon, no matter how many times the thought would try to urge him for it. 

“I mean, I know we said you two look like a married couple over how clingy you are together but… that’s not dating.”

“Well duh, that’s why I wanted to see your reactions. Anyway, we’re just trying to, it’s not like it’s really dating…”

His two friends went quiet and Yeonjun felt as if he was being observed through a magnifying glass, being searched for any sight of twitches and tics. He tried to stay as composed as he was but eventually their unknown silence started to make him uncomfortable enough to bring out a small gesture such as nibbling on his lower lip and the two failed to stifle a smile, as if they had just found the meaning behind it. 

“Well, you two might as well date properly now while you’re at it so, hyung,” Taehyun stood up to grab a small notebook his parents used for shopping lists and a pen, then putting them in front of Yeonjun on top of the centre table. “here’s some things you could do.”

The oldest looked confused at them, hesitantly picking up the objects. It was true that he didn’t know much about dating, specially when he was used to being around the person, but something about the proud looks on their faces, the way they acted like they suddenly had found a stick to poke fun at him, kind of vexed him. Even so, Yeonjun swallowed his pride and decided to go along with the play, opening the notebook at a random page and getting ready to write. 

“You have to try things couples do or else you won’t go anywhere.” Taehyun sat back down at the table and crossed his legs. “Like… holding hands in the streets.”

“They already do that.” Beomgyu put in after quickly swallowing the last piece of fruit, not subtly enough for their hyung not to hear.

“Feed each other.”

“…They already do that.”

“Kiss then.”

“They already–”

“You’re not helping, Beomgyu.” Taehyung gave him a dirty look, to which the other replied with a sneer. “And I mean properly kiss, not with their heads in the clouds.”

Yeonjun felt slightly embarrassed, that was definitely directed at him. He remembered thinking it had been like a daydream and decided to keep his mouth shut about it, ignoring the fact that Taehyun was dropping a hint at him.

“W-What else can I do?”

“Well, have you two gone on dates yet?”

Did their normal hang outs count as dates? Knowing Taehyun, probably not. 

“…No.” 

“Then go on one. Go to the cinema, –”

“Go on a bike ride, –”

“Eat somewhere fancy, or stay indoors and do something together, like cooking–”

“Or have sex– OW!”

Beomgyu rubbed harshly on the back of his head right after Taehyun had smacked him while Yeonjun had choked on his own spit, a creeping blush filling his cheeks and ears that the other two didn’t notice as Taehyun was scolding Beomgyu for going ‘too fast for his hyung’, something which Yeonjun would take offense if he wasn’t too busy trying to ease his breathing between the coughs. He surely wouldn’t mind kissing Soobin again, that was for sure, but the other might not be as comfortable for it yet, let alone have… sex. That was something to think about at a later time, after figuring out the things between them. 

“Just plan to do something fun with Soobin-hyung with the mindset that you want to spend time together. Just the two.”

“Yea, Yeonjunie-hyung, don’t worry, you’ll be fine. Just go with the flow.”

Yeonjun nodded more confidently, chest trusted out as he stood straighter. 

_They’re right, you got this! Just ask him to go somewhere and have a good time, act kind and sweet, preferably cool, and just go with the flow. Yea, go with the flow…_

…

Taehyun and Beomgyu observed Yeonjun with a smile as Yeonjun seemed more cheered up until the older blinked two, three times and returned to the same position as before, a sheepish smile slipping his lips. 

“…Can you just give me some more ideas?”


	10. Chapter 10

A few days had gone by and the dance battle was finally, once again, just around the corner. Yeonjun’s body had not been in its best condition in the last one and his mind kept forcefully reminding him of that one or two mistakes he had done during that event which had almost cost him the victory against the other school’s opponent. Adding to that, this month’s dance battle was against powerful opponents from a school Yeonjun had previously battled, one that at the time it hadn’t been that hard to beat but, in the latest months, had been known for rapidly improving and winning a couple of dance battles with most of their members. There was also a peculiar dancer that Yeonjun could say they had picked his interest, one whose movements were fluid and captivating, timing almost impeccable enough to receive some compliments from the judges. Of course, Yeonjun himself was better than him, but he couldn’t just ignore the fact that the other, who was just a newbie at the time and was still growing his full potential, had become one of the most challenging dancers from the district. Therefore, Yeonjun had been training a little harder (even harder than he already did) just in case the world would finally fulfil one of his many wishes and have said dancer as an opponent in the next dance battle. 

It was time for his dance activities and Yeonjun could feel his body tingle with excitement for some movement, probably from the nerves that he usually didn’t show and instead hid them behind his confidence. He pulled the sports bag’s strap, it kept sliding off his shoulder, closer to his collarbone as he walked towards the practice room and eventually noticed his two friends waiting by the door. Taehyun and Beomgyu would always meet up with Yeonjun by the dance practice room before the activities started, every day whenever the monthly dance battle was close, and he always appreciated the support they came to give him, even though they wouldn’t admit that, instead giving excuses like thinking the dance battle was on that day when Yeonjun had made sure to let them know the moment a new date was released. Unlike them, Huening Kai would only come on D-Day, but he was always the one who shouted the most whenever his turn of Soobin’s ended, so Yeonjun also made sure to give the same amount of support whenever Soobin invited him to go to Huening Kai’s art project presentations.

“Hey, it’s not today.” Yeonjun greeted the two, replying in advance to their expected excuse. 

“We know, we know. We just came to see you before leaving, our classes are done for today. Taehyun-ah agreed to tutor me today so I’m going to his place.”

“That’s… pretty honest of you.” 

“I actually thought he was sick or something.” Taehyun joked, winning a side glare from Beomgyu who decided to keep quiet this time. A bit unusual of him but Yeonjun brushed it off, the younger probably just wanted to spend his afternoon with a companion that could actually answer properly to him besides a talking parrot he owned, Beomgyu had always been a person uncapable of get entertained by himself alone. 

“Oh?” Beomgyu tilted his head slightly to peek under Yeonjun’s bowl hat. “Did you dye your hair?”

“No?” But the boy barely waited for Yeonjun to finish, picking up the bowl hat by the edge to check and letting it fall back on top of his head, the other grunting in annoyance as he fixed it, covering most of his head and pulling the front just a little above his eyebrows. Yeonjun had forgotten to dry his hair properly again and wasn’t able to straighten all of the messy surprises he had woken up with, so his key style for that day would be his favourite dark blue bowl hat, along with the usual style he wore for the dance club activities.

“Remember when he showed up with this colour and Huening Kai just kept asking him if he could be his muse for the next project?” Beomgyu laughed at the funny memory, poking Taehyun’s side with his elbow as the other chuckled along.

“I was going for blond but Soobin said he liked–” And Yeonjun stopped on his words, fully regretting having opened his big mouth in the first place as he looked back at the youngers, the two goggling at him with an obvious smirk plastered on their faces. And speaking of which, Soobin chose that timing, a terrible one if Yeonjun had to say, to arrive, greeting them with an innocent and clueless smile.

“Hey guys, why are you here?”

Taehyung and Beomgyu shared a look, trying to hide the grins by biting lightly on their bottom lips. 

“How lucky is Soobin-hyung, right Beomgyu?”

“Right.~~ I wish I was this special.~~”

They mocked, taking turns in glancing towards Yeonjun’s direction, the boy clearly unpleased with their joke, eyes shooting daggers at the two as he screamed internally at them to keep their mouths shut. Unfortunately, Yeonjun didn’t have telepathy and the other two couldn’t read minds.   
Soobin frowned in confusion, clearly missing what the topic of the conversation was, but as he opened his mouth to ask, the others were quick to interrupt him, feet taking a few steps back to part ways.

“Anyway, we should go, can’t lose study time.”

“Our Yeonjunie-hyung is in good hands now.”

Yeonjun had almost raised his fist at them if the two hadn’t left right after said words, waving in between childish snickers. 

“What was that about?”

“They were trying to make me jump down their throats is what was happening.” Yeonjun muttered heavily and entered the room before Soobin could question the situation further. The younger took one last look at the two friends disappearing in the next corner of the school’s corridor and followed suit. 

\---.---

There were only a few days for the dance battle and Soobin was more relaxed than he himself expected to be. Maybe all the accumulated nerves would just jump out on the day itself but Soobin was sure they wouldn’t, he wasn’t the type of person for that to happen. The dance battle for him was just like any other competition that he had had in his life, a friendly gathering with different dancers to show off their skills and admire the skills of others, so, unlike some other members (mainly Yeonjun), Soobin wouldn’t get that nervous with dance battles. 

There was only one thing that mattered to him on such day.

He pulled hard on his sneaker’s strings and got ready to do some warmup during the remaining time there was left before practice, weakly rotation his wrists and ankles before starting to do it properly. His eyes landed on Yeonjun who had already walked towards the centre of the room and had begun to do some moves while watching himself in the mirror, his expression slowly growing focused on his own movements. The older had brought a white oversized plain t-shirt that slightly covered his black sweatpants just below his hips, his usual puma sneakers and a dark blue bowl hat that almost covered his eyes, and Soobin couldn’t help but eye him up and down at least once. He questioned once more about what Beomgyu and Taehyung had said to make Yeonjun want to jump on their asses before practice, a subtle tilt of his head as he scratched it. They must had probably been teasing him just like Hyuka would do it to him sometimes, excluding the fact that they were obviously ogling Soobin with mischievous eyes and with a blunt tone of mockery escaping their lips, but Soobin decided to shrug it away since he himself was not the target of said teasing. 

“Did you dye your hair again, hyung?” Soobin asked as he met up with Yeonjun at the centre, walking while rotation his left shoulder.

“No, it’s still the same.” Yeonjun raised the front of his bowl hat so it would show his grey blue fringe. The colour had turned paler, probably from washing it many times since he had dyed it, but it still looked good on him. The younger reached out to brush his hair, admiring the colour before his eyes met Yeonjun’s and something behind that glint of his and the soft features made him feel slightly self-conscious, quickly going for ruffling the hair under his touch. They were supposed to be dating, so why was his hand almost retracting on his own under the older’s sudden gaze? It wasn’t the first time it happened now…

“…Should I dye it?” Yeonjun asked shortly after, pulling the bowl hat down and proceeding with a little more of warmup, pulling his right leg to the chest, wobbling a bit on the spot. Soobin followed suit.

“If you want. You wanted blond last time, wasn’t it?”

“You said it’d look terrible on me!”

“Because it was too pale! Hyung should have something more unique.”

“Unique?” Yeonjun let go of his right leg to do the same with his left. “Like what?”

“Like… Neon yellow?” 

“Neon yellow?! Are you kidding me?!” The older shouted, almost tripping as he kicked the floor after letting go of his left leg. It caught the attention of a few other members surrounding him and he lowered his head in silence to avoid their curious stares, then sitting on the floor and stretching his arms to touch (or try to touch) his toes.

“It would definitely grab attention.” Soobin continued the conversation as normal, following the older’s movements and placing himself right beside him. 

“Yea, over how terrible it would look.”

“Better than bleach blond.”

“You’re so annoying!”

“It takes one to know one.” 

“Ya!” Yeonjun pointed at him, a brief silence between them, until the older scoffed and both burst out laughing, Soobin falling over to the side and leaning against Yeonjun’s shoulder, which caused the other’s laugh to die down a little faster and Soobin noticed it, pushing himself up and back to his initial position involuntarily. 

_Ah, I did it again…_

If Yeonjun noticed it he didn’t say anything, to Soobin’s relief, and soon he got up from the floor, patting the younger’s shoulder with a smirk as if daring him to follow. 

“Shall we try and see who makes fewer mistakes today?”

Soobin’s lips curved up.

“You’re on!”

**Author's Note:**

> I wrote this but I actually don't have many ideas for the plot so I guess I'll be writing as the ideas come along? I just wished writer's block didn't exist..  
> Hope at least this chapter was a good read for now. I'll try to continue this in the future! :)


End file.
